After a prolonged disjunct and competition between Hamas ruling Gaza and Al Fatah (PLO) ruling out of Ramallah the two had agreed to bury their differences so that the next elections could be held in May 2021. Last elections were held in 2006when the deep seated political and principled differences and the international politics undermined any chances of a unity government or even a broad workable mechanism. A division among the major Palestinian factions obviously defeats any chances of resolution of the festering plight of the Palestinians.

"One-fifth of Indian districts have not reported any Covid-19 cases for the last seven days. We seem to have flattened the Covid curve,” declared Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan two months back, on February 15. By then the daily infections that had peaked to 90,000 cases last year, were down to less than 9,000. But things changed dramatically into an unprecedented disaster in April (see table). The grim situation called for a huge national resolve to deal with the crisis.

At a time when Myanmar was leapfrogging to give a sound footing to its nascent experiment of democracy after decades of military rule, the military takeover on 1 February put the clock back to where it was with debilitating consequences. The junta remains unmoved to the global outcry and killing of the civilian protestors. After the military takeover, the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained on spurious charges together with other democratically elected leaders.